


Cuddling Will Make It Better

by Nikolaus_Chaser



Category: Merlin - Fandom
Genre: Bullying, Cuddling, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2014-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-27 09:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2687519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikolaus_Chaser/pseuds/Nikolaus_Chaser





	Cuddling Will Make It Better

Merlin scowled at his reflection in the school bathroom, rubbing at his chin. He hissed in pain as his fingers ran over his bruised chin, which was already growing black and blue.

 _Dammit_ , Merlin thought. Why couldn’t Mordred have punched him in the stomach or the chest? Or even the arm? Merlin would have been okay if he had punched him anywhere that could have been covered up with clothing. But no- Mordred just had to punch him in the face, where everyone would be able to see the nasty bruise he had left.

Arthur was going to have a bloody cow.

After nearly ten minutes of poking and prodding at the bruise with his fingers, Merlin decided that it was time he got back to class. He washed over his hands and his face with cold water before dragging himself back down the hallway and to class.  
The school day went by faster than Merlin would have liked it to. Before he was ready, he was sitting on the bus and heading home. He spent the entire ride on his phone, wasting his battery by playing Candy Crush. But he was too distracted to really care.

He knew that Arthur would be at his apartment. His boyfriend had no classes at the local college that day (Arthur was one year older than Merlin, and had graduated from high school the previous spring), so he was most likely hanging out at Merlin’s place waiting for him to come home. It was what he usually did, anyway, since Merlin’s Uncle Gaius was so fond of Arthur and didn’t mind him staying over at their apartment so long as he cleaned up after himself.

Of course, Arthur never cleaned up after himself. Merlin was always the one who wound up cleaning up his boyfriend’s mess. But Gaius didn’t mind, as long as the house was clean.

Merlin idled his way down the sidewalk towards his apartment building, the slowly made his way up the stairs. When he reached his front door, he spent an insanely long amount of time digging his keys out of his pocket. He entered as quietly as he could, dropping his bag on the couch and making his way to the kitchen.

He knew that his Uncle wasn’t home, since Gaius usually sat in the living room reading the paper and watching TV, and he wasn’t there. But he could tell that somebody was home, and he wasn’t exactly eager to confront that somebody.

Alas, he knew it was inevitable, and he slowly made his way to his bedroom where Arthur was lounging on his bed playing video games. He didn’t look up when Merlin walked in, simply smiled and kept his eyes trained on the TV.

“Hey, babe. How was school?” he asked, shooting a couple characters in the game. Merlin shrugged.

“It was good, I guess.” He cleared his throat. “Watch out, there’s a sniper at 2 o’clock.”

Arthur promptly shot the guy, smiling slightly. “Thanks, love. Why don’t you come sit with me?” he asked, scouting over a little. 

“Well, it is my bed, anyway.” Merlin mumbled, walking over and taking a seat. He started to relax a bit. Maybe Arthur wouldn’t see his bruise after all…

A couple minutes went by and Arthur eventually died. He groaned loudly and tossed the video game controller to the side. “No more gaming for me.” He sighed, turning to smile at Merlin,. But his smile quickly faded when he saw Merlin’s face. He reached out, his fingers tracing the bruise. Merlin flinched.

“Who did this to you?” he asked, scowling. Merlin swallowed.

“Mordred.” He whispered. Arthur’s frown only deepened.

“That little twerp? I could kill him with one hand tied behind my back.” He growled. Merlin sighed.

“Arthur, don’t do that.”

“Why not?” He frowned, pulling Merlin into his arms. “Nobody hurts my baby.”

Merlin sighed and buried his face in Arthur’s neck. “It’s not worth it.”

“Hmm… we’ll see about that.” Arthur said, kissing Merlin on the forehead. Merlin smiled a little and looked up at his college-boyfriend with adoring brown eyes. Arthur looked down at Merlin, a funny look on his face.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he raised an eyebrow. Merlin smiled.

 _Because I love you, you dumb ass_ , he thought. He shook his head. “It’s nothing. I’m just happy you’re my boyfriend.”

Arthur smiled a little and pecked Merlin on the lips, pulling him closer and rubbing his back.

“I would be happy, too. I’m a really awesome guy.”

Merlin rolled his eyes and leaned into Arthur’s chest again, nuzzling his neck and falling asleep.

Three hours later, when Gaius returned from the supermarket, it was to find Arthur and Merlin both curled up around each other, fast asleep. He couldn’t help but smile at how cute they looked before waking Merlin up to put the groceries away. 

Needless to say, both he and Arthur were a little more than grumpy after that.


End file.
